Sunday, January 14, 2018

CBP Can Demand the Passwords to Your Electronic Devices


An article at "The Identity Project" - New DHS policy on demands for passwords to travelers’ electronic devices - stated that "US Customs and Border Protection [CBP], a component of the Department of Homeland Security, [on January 5, 2018] posted a revised policy on Border Searches of Electronic Devices and a Privacy Impact Assessment of some of the changes made by the new policy.

CBP now says as follows...

Travelers are obligated to present electronic devices and the information contained therein in a condition that allows inspection of the device and its contents... Passcodes or other means of entry may be requested and retained as needed to facilitate the examination of an electronic device or information contained on an electronic device, including information on the device that is accessible through software applications present on the device. If an Officer is unable to complete an inspection of an electronic device because it is protected by a passcode or encryption, the Officer may... detain the device pending a determination as to its admissibility, exclusion, or other disposition.

It seems that according to this policy, CBP can demand that you provide them with the passwords for your electronic devices, allowing them to them go through whatever information those devices may contain. If you refuse to provide your password, CBP can "detain your device" [steal it?]!

More from the Identity Project can be found at https://papersplease.org/

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